may he live in interesting times

[voidster]

Gaster and Gaster sitting by the wall, in the hall...

One is solid, the usual skeleton-in-coat-and-sweater form. One is less so, rounded, a torso with no arms or legs. One comes with no accessories. One has a satchel that slipped off his shoulders, a golden wristwatch lying by his base. And one, the properly formed one, has pink runes where eyesockets and nasal bones and mouth should be.

The other cannot think. The world is a haze, thoughts moving at the speed of molasses, bent over and burying his face in his hands. He hasn't moved in quite some time, lacking the will to do anything, and neither has the other. Neither knows what to do, really. They must stay together, and Gaster is ignoring Gaster's signs.

One of him shouldn't exist, let alone two. It's bound to attract attention sooner or later, isn't it?

Comments

[voidster]

[Flowers? In a book?]

Considering the extreme lack of types of flowers in the Underground... no. Echo Flowers are too big and Golden Flowers far too important.

[I like Asgore's flowers.] Flower-King is his rendering of Asgore's name. They'll understand.

[dustless]

"In a book. You...make them flat in the pages, so they stay good. Somebody tried that with some library books an' got in trouble." Or so they heard. It was a weird, sort of boring story their mama told them about her days in high school.

"You--" Oh. Oh. They do understand, but only after a panicked moment of thinking of Asriel. "--yeah, those were pretty. Never got to have the tea he made with them."

[voidster]

[Like that. With the photos.]

Oblivious, their discomfort flies right over his head. It was too fast. [It's delicious. I wish I were with them.]

Even in this state, he knows he'll never be. It's the first time he's said 'I wish' out loud...

[dustless]

"The flowers?" they ask foolishly. No, probably Asgore, right? Or...monsters?

...they wonder if there are golden flowers here. They haven't seen the exact type from underground in the gardens, but maybe that was because they never bothered to look. Frisk can't say they really like them.

[voidster]

[Asgore. Toriel.]

Pie-queen. She thought it was adorable... or did he imagine that? So hard to be sure what was real before everything was rewritten.

(The castle hasn't lead them to stairs yet. That's good.)

[dustless]

Pie-queen. That is adorable, and it leaves a funny ache in their chest.

She's not their mom, but they still love her.

Frisk takes a deep breath.

"She used to be here. She might come back," they posit quietly.

[voidster]

They're not the only one who loved--loves--those old goats. Family. He hardly had a chance to keep his long... by monster standards.

[I'd like to be there. Not here.]

Except... except... there's someone he should remain for, isn't there?

[dustless]

This is veering into a different sort of upsetting territory.

"Here sucks sometimes," they agree, even more quiet. They can't lapse into silence, though, that won't help.

"Did--did you ever garden?"

[voidster]

Rattle rattle along...

[No. Not interesting to me. Only nice to visit.]

Asgore's garden, he means. Beautiful to look at, and far too much work when he has so many things to learn...

[dustless]

Frisk isn't even paying attention to where they're going right now. Hopefully their replica would warn them if Runester was about to do something like dump them down a set of stairs.

"...We should try it sometime. 'S something to do."

[voidster]

He'd never do that to two harmless children, that's unthinkable.

[Tomatoes.] he says, unable to even keep an intelligent conversation going. Fear. And disgust with himself. Frustration, anger, hate... this is all his fault, he's aware, and that isn't enough to stop him being terrified of how he'll end up when it's all done.

[dustless]

"We can do that. I've seen a lot before."

Frisk's not sure what else to do--and they think a lot of it's exhaustion, not an absence of self. Though exhaustion still sucks. They hope they can get him to at least lie down...if he can stay on the bed.

"...are you gonna melt more?" they ask, glancing beneath themselves.

[voidster]

He might, with the help of himself herding him and forcing him to stay on the bed. The sooner he stabilizes, the sooner the pair can do something about this Judgement mess. Almost to his room.

[Hard. Hard to resist.] So, so hard.

[dustless]

They bite their tongue. Frisk knows this is his fault, but pushing that on him like this wouldn't be fair. After he rests, then.

"...m'kay. Sorry."

On impulse, they lean forward and give him a hug. Carefully, as much as they're able, and they'll stop if their arms start sinking into him.

[voidster]

They do not. He's attempting to 'hug' back in an awkward strange way, and so he's holding them up and preventing them from 'sinking'. And he doesn't let go of them. Not until they reach his door, Runester recognizing it from copied memories. He opens the door with a free hand (can't summon helpers...), wheeling the three passengers in backwards and stopping beside the bed.

[Alright. Are you going to stay?]

[dustless]

At least he's responsive enough for that much.

"Yeah. Don't have anything else to do. And. Thanks. For...helping." Just because he's sort of...programmed for helping doesn't mean he shouldn't be thanked. In fact, he should be extra thanked.

Frisk jumps off, sidestepping somewhere closer to Gaster's copy. Frisk's somewhat more reluctant, but they wriggle off the wheelbarrow's side as well, opposite the bed. "Should get on there," they say, pointing. If he can.

[voidster]

Being thanked certainly is good--he may be more than a little frustrated with the situation he's been 'born' into. And the fool's reaction. Kill him, really?

[Do. Onto the bed.] And if that's not encouragement enough, he's heaving Gaster out of the wheelbarrow, which is fortunately mostly level with the bed, his hands shoved under the original's 'bottom' and scooping (or shoving) the goop out. So undignified. Dirt and splinters that failed to stick everywhere.

[dustless]

The pair try to help.

Try being the operative word, here. They might've had some progress in pushing him, at least, but mostly they just got all their hands filthier.

A splinter scrapes Frisk's palm, drawing a line of pink. They whip their hand back, since he's sort of like liquid and they're human and there's an instinctive fear of being dangerous, even if that doesn't make sense.

"Good?" they ask in a slightly strangled voice.

[voidster]

[Good?] he echos back at them in gesture form. No. Not really. It's mostly all bad. He spreads his bulk out over the bed, hardly noticing he's making a mess with bits of wood and soil. Not noticing at all Frisk has hurt themself. [No. He is stealing my mind.]

There. The truth is out.

All the focus is on Gaster, so Runester simply sits down in his chair at his desk, ignoring Gaster's accusation. Some small part of him doesn't want to appropriate all the original's space... yet what choice does he have? He can't wander very far.

[dustless]

Frisk glances at Frisk, who only shrugs. They were cast from HP and know it.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, they keep their hand balled up on their lap. "What...d'you mean? Why?" The former's aimed at Gaster, the latter Runester.

[voidster]

[Can't think.] he signs and finds his pillow, making a mockery of someone lying down to sleep. Simple as that. He can't.

[It's what I was made from. He should recover.]

So he hopes, if they're to get anything done.

[dustless]

They make a half-hiss through their teeth. It's not the other-Gaster's fault he exists--it's just a pity that doesn't make everything less annoying.

"The jackal won't listen," they say, since it's not a question. They also regret not pulling the blankets down, but maybe it's good to see his whole body, so they can tell if he's oozing off the bed.

[voidster]

He isn't. The mystery goo isn't that liquid, not at the moment.

[It's he who refuses to listen, and you too, I presume. She is not a friend.]

[dustless]

Frisk can't make a sound, but their shoulders move in a way that's obviously a sigh.

"Sure," Frisk says, after a long breath in.

And then they turn around to watch Gaster, and not see the other's signs. They don't feel like arguing about this even more.

"Wonder if you should eat something."

[voidster]

And Runester can only shrug at Frisk. Like he thought. One stubborn child and one stubborn old man.

[Why?]

It's not his body that's in trouble, is it?